§ 28. Award of certificates to accelerate certain matters at the Patent and Trademark Office

• (a) In this section, the term “eligible entity” means an entity that—
  • (1) submits an application under subsection (d) for a patent that addresses a humanitarian issue; and
  • (2) meets the requirements specified by the Director.
• (b) There is established a competition, to be held not less frequently than biennially, to award eligible entities certificates that can be redeemed to accelerate one of the following matters:
  • (1) An ex parte reexamination proceeding, including 1 appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board from that proceeding.
  • (2) An application for a patent, including 1 appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board from that application.
  • (3) An appeal to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of a claim twice rejected in a patent application or reissue application or finally rejected in an ex parte reexamination, without accelerating the underlying matter that generated the appeal.
  • (4) A matter identified by the Director.
• (c) The Director shall administer the competition established under subsection (b).
• (d) An entity seeking an award under subsection (b) shall submit to the Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require.
• (e) The Director shall promote the competition established under subsection (b) through the satellite offices established pursuant to section 1.
• (f) The competition established under subsection (b) shall be treated as a successor to the Patents for Humanity Program (established in the notice entitled “Humanitarian Awards Pilot Program”, published at 77 Fed. Reg. 6544 ( February 8, 2012 )).